


Show Me Your Scars and I Won't Walk Away

by VoidEtheria



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Implied Sexual Content, Percabeth smut, Post-Tartarus (Percy Jackson), Resolved Argument Prompt Exchange, percabeth, percabeth fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:29:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23998291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VoidEtheria/pseuds/VoidEtheria
Summary: Percy copes with Tartarus in unhealthy ways and Annabeth has had enough
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Comments: 14
Kudos: 267
Collections: favorite on PJO





	Show Me Your Scars and I Won't Walk Away

The sun always seems to shine brighter in Camp Half Blood Annabeth thinks. Despite it being the middle of January, the brightness wakes her up as it shines through Percy's blinds in his cabin. Annabeth rolls over to find the spot next to her on the mattress is empty. Percy usually wakes up before her but she frowns whenever he’s not next to her. However she knows that if he was there, they’d be going for a round two. Or three. Or four. She couldn’t remember. 

Since Tartarus he’d been more....handsy. Touching her arms and shoulders when she’d walk by, standing behind her protectively and wrapping an arm around her waist, holding her thigh underneath the table at dinner. She couldn’t blame him of course, after all they’d been through, they needed to feel each other's touch. In fact, she liked his new found possessiveness. After everything that has happened, she felt safest when he was touching her.  
Annabeth remembers the nights they’d spend together on the Argo II in Percy's bed. After Tartarus, they couldn’t sleep much without each other and with Coach Hedge off the boat, they were free to do what they wanted to each other’s bodies.

Percy seemed to initiate sex every time after Tartarus. She at first assumed it was just teenage boy hormones. The two went nearly a year without touching each other and she was just as desperate for him as he was for her. It was quite the ego stroke if she was being honest...she had never felt so desired in her life. So every night on the Argo 2, when Percy lured her into his bed gazing at her with pure love and lust his eyes, she thought nothing of it. She felt wanted. And it felt so damn good to be wanted. To be needed.  
So when Percy leaned into her ear, completely breathless and panting after his release, he’d whisper in her ear “I love you so much. “ and she thought nothing of it.

Annabeth noticed as time went on, the frown lines began to deepen on Percy’s face. Time didn’t seem to be healing for Percy, things seemed to just get worse. It took awhile to notice if she were being honest. He had always been soft for her. His voice got softer, his smile widened, but when she began to look between the cracks, she started to notice he wasn’t treating everyone the same way he was treating her.

When Annabeth would stare at him from afar, she’d notice his expression was more brooding than ever. He was approached significantly less at camp. While he wasn’t downright mean, if she looked closely she’d notice that it took a lot more for him to smile with others and he was an awful lot more quiet.

Annabeth's realizations began to set in stone that Percy has barely healed from Tartarus. He hasn’t even really scratched the surface in the process. Not only was he quiet with everyone in general, he was quiet with her as well which ate her up. She picked up on how the more he seemed to be conflicted, the more he seemed to want her. Kisses got hotter. Sex was fervent and daily. She could tell he was fighting a war inside and the thought nearly breaks her if she thinks about it for too long.

He’d always been the type to shut down and get quiet when he was truly upset, but this was new. When she wakes up next to him naked after a nightmare, she’d spill her guts to him, dissecting every part of the dream. When he’d wake up thrashing, she’d plead for him to tell her but he’d get quiet and lean her down into the mattress.

She wants to push him harder. To beg him to open up to her. After all she’s always spilling her guts to him. She would ask him what’s wrong about several times a day but when they’re alone in his cabin he shakes his head and presses his lips onto hers.

“It's nothing.” He whispers on to the skin of her neck.

“I love you. I’m fine.” She feels him force a smile against her skin as her lips run lower...and lower...and lower...

As Annabeth makes her way to the Big House she catches a glimpse of Percy helping a younger camper with their sword work. He’s glistening with sweat, his armor isn’t fastened properly and is sliding down one side. Seaweed brain she thinks sweetly and smiles. He’s crouched down as he assists the young daughter of Apollo with her sword arm and his head turns to Annabeth’s direction. His gaze lands on hers accidentally and his whole body seems to light up when their eyes meet. He flashes her a toothy grin and winks at her as if he’s saying As soon as I’m done here, I’ll come see you. Annabeth melts at his gaze and winks back before heading back on her route.

The encounter with Percy is almost enough to lift her spirits for the rest of the day but when she spots her best friend sitting on the porch of the Big House, she’s reminded of the conversation she’s been so desperate to have with her. She grabs Piper's arm dragging her towards the strawberry fields.

“Sorry Pipes! I need to talk to you!”

Piper snaps out of her distraction and grins at Annabeth.

“Oh man I love it when you soooo desperately need me.” She says and Annabeth can practically hear her smirk.

The two sit together on a patch of cropped grass just outside the fields.

“So what’s up brain girl. What can the daughter of love assist you with today.” Piper says cheerfully as she stretches her legs on the grass and leans back smiling. Annabeth hesitates telling her the truth. She knows she and Jason have been going through their own relationship troubles recently and this is the most she’s seen her smile in weeks. She’d hate to damper her best friend even more with her own problems.

Piper seems to notice Annabeth's hesitation and quickly turns serious.

“Annabeth...what’s wrong...”

She already dragged her out here. Might as well rip the bandage off.

“Me and Percy have been having a lot of sex...” Piper's sudden seriousness starts to fade as she snorts.

“Uhhhh yeah I was on the Argo 2 with you guys for months.” She laughs, “if anyone knows about your sex life, it’s me” Annabeth rolls her eyes but smirks faintly.

“This is different Piper. We’re having sex everyday. Twice, sometimes three times a day!”

Piper’s smirk stays on her face.

“Yeahhhh I’m failing to see how this is a bad thing.” She picks up some grass and flicks it at Annabeth jokingly. “You’re getting laid girl. You guys are totally in love so it’s normal to be super horny at your age. What’s the problem here?”

Annabeth's face goes somber as she slowly picks the grass blades off her lap.

“I’m not upset we’re having sex this much...it’s just the reason why..” she sighs and notices Piper’s confused look.

“He won’t talk to me Piper.... We went through Tartarus five months ago. He tortured Misery five months ago... and-- and he’s still angry..” her voice cracks as she hears Piper sit up from the grass. The air between them suddenly becomes thick.

“He’s hurting and he won’t tell me.” She says miserably. “...I tell him everything.”

There’s a moment of silence between them. Piper extends a hand onto Annabeths, just now understanding the hurt she is going through.

“Yeah, Percy's never been quite like you has he.” The reply is useless yet sad because the truth is, Piper doesn’t know what to say.

Annabeth shakes her head.

“I don’t want to push him...” she whispers and it’s the truth. She loves Percy. She needs Percy. She’s as desperate as him at times like this. While she wants communication more than anything right now, she’d be lying if she said she didn’t need the feeling of him inside her too. It’s not like she wants to kill her sex life even though it’s become unhealthy. Because the truth is, the sex is amazing. Percy learned her body so fast as she learned his. He can push her to the edge so quickly. She just wants it to be healthy.

“I want him to have sex with me because he loves me, not because he wants to forget about Tartarus.”

Annabeth blinks back tears as she grips Piper's hand.

“Annabeth I think you need to push him.” Piper says cautiously. When Annabeth stays silent, she takes it as a sign to keep going.

“Now I’m sure he is having sex with you because he loves you and finds you completely sexy, but I’m sure you’re right. It’s become a coping mechanism to him it seems and that’s not right...” Piper trails off and Annabeth can’t find it in her to hold back her tears.

She looks up at the sky with no intent as the tears slide down to her ears.

“I want him to do better.” She whispers though she’s not sure why she’s being so quiet.

“I hate seeing him like this.” Because the truth is, it’s not just about the sex, she wants him to heal from Tartarus. She wants him to be happy again.

Piper nods as Annabeth brings her head back down and they lock eyes. Piper grips her friends shoulder.

“Talk to him tonight. You guys both need to get through this.”

The two girls stand up as Annabeth heavily sighs and wipes her tears. Piper suddenly pulls her friend into a bone crushing hug.

“Don’t chicken out Beth. I want my best friend to have an amazing sex life so I can live vicariously through her.” she says in her ear.

“Even the gods know I have cobwebs down there.” Piper finishes as the two girls laugh and make their way back to the Big House.

After camp activities were done, it’s around 11pm when Annabeth slips on her Yankees cap and makes her way across camp to Percy's cabin as she usually does. When she slowly opens the door, she is greeted to a shirtless Percy sitting up on his bed sharpening a sword that he’d use tomorrow during his lesson. Teaching sword fighting meant he had to take care of the materials though he didn’t seem to mind.

“Well hello beautiful.” He jokes as she closes the door and she is still entirely invisible.

“Haha very funny babe.” She shakes her head smiling as she pulls off the cap and saunters over to him. Percy puts down the sword on his desk and Annabeth walks to the edge of the bed he’s sitting on, pushes his legs apart, and stands over him resting her hands on his shoulders. Percy grips her waist and kisses the bare skin of her stomach exposed from her crop top.

“I don’t ever think I’ll get used to hearing you talk and seeing nothing.” He laughs against her skin.

Annabeth chuckles and looks down at him, running her hands through his hair. It’s times like this where Annabeth forgets about all the struggles they go through. Looking down at Percy, she’s reminded why he is the love of her life. Feeling him kiss her body and hearing him laugh makes her heart swell painfully. The moment is so perfect she almost forgets the conversation she had with Piper. Almost.

When Percy stands, he begins to kiss her lips. He pushes her long blond hair back and pushes down the straps of her top. He leans down and kisses that sweet spot below her ear and Annabeth lets out a deep sigh.

“I missed you today babe.” Percy whispers in her ear and he runs his fingers through her hair.

She wants him so bad right now. He has one hand in her hair and one hand gripping her ass. She rakes her nails lightly across his shoulder blades when Piper's voice rings through her ears. “Don’t chicken out Beth.”

Annabeth suddenly remembers her tears today in a flash.

“Percy,” she says through his kisses. She means for it to sound demanding but with his hands on her ass and his mouth on her neck, it comes out as a whimper.

“Hmmm.” Percy moans into her collarbone. He wasn’t entirely gone.

“Babe stop.” Her voice wasn’t harsh but it wasn’t soft either. The word stop is enough to get Percy to jerk away from her. He’s a gentleman after all.

He looks at her with wide eyes.

“What’s wrong...did I-“ The concern in his voice was too much for Annabeth.

“No! I just-“ Her throat feels tight and her hands cling to her hair as she begins to pace back and forth in his cabin. She’s not sure how to do this. She can feel the tears begin to burn in her eyes but she can’t cry. They haven’t even spoken yet.

Percy watches her still as a statue. She’s pacing as if she’s about to blow up and he doesn’t want to add fuel to the fire. He only feels the need to talk when Annabeth suddenly goes still and quietly pants. “Annabeth... please. Can you-.. What’s wrong?” He quietly pleads, still keeping his distance from her. He’s completely winded by her next sentence.

“Do you love me as much as I love you?” She turns to him now with tears in her eyes. It’s abrupt yes, but Annabeth doesn’t know what else to say. To say Percy wasn’t expecting that would be an understatement. He can’t think of a good response.

“What…” he whispers. Almost incredulously.

“You don't tell me a damn thing Percy.” She lets her tears fall now. She wants him to see what this has been doing to her.

“I’ve let you see every part of me. Every bad fucking thing! I love you enough to show you what I’m not proud of now why can’t you do the same for me!” Her voice is hard and her glare is steel.

“What are you talking about?” His voice was only desperate as he half yelled.

“You only have sex with me because you never want to talk!” Percy’s being seems to go slack like he’s in disbelief. That fire is still burning inside of Annabeth and she keeps going.

“You don’t want me..You- I’m a distraction! You use me to distract yourself from what happened down there! You don’t tell me shit!” Percy turns rigid, realization dawning onto him.

“What do you want me to say Annabeth…”

“I want you to tell me what Tartarus has done to you!” She’s shouting now and Percy returns her hard glare.

His voice is icy when he says, “Oh do you not like who I am?” He steps towards her now. Annabeth falters at this. She wasn’t expecting an angry answer so quick.

“That’s not what I mean I-“

“Do you wanna see me when I’m angry? That person who tortured Misery! Do you wanna look him in the eye again?” His voice was dangerously low.

“Percy let me finish!-“

“Then what do you want from me Annabeth! You want to see every bad part about me just so I can scare you again the way I did five months ago!”

Something clicked inside of Annabeth at those words. It hadn’t crossed her mind that he was hiding…for her own sake. His green eyes are blazing with an anger she’s only seen a few times. Annabeth stares at Percy and his shoulders slump. They were silent for a moment and all the anger in Percy seemed to dissolve from just looking at her. For the first time in years, she saw tears in his eyes. He quickly turns his back to her as if he was embarrassed and pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes.

“I’m sorry.” he whispers.

Annabeth slowly approaches him and presses her forehead on his back.

“Why do you have sex with me Percy.” She said softly with eyes closed. The screaming match was over but the issue wasn’t resolved.

“Because I love you and I want you I-“ She shook her head against his back.

“Percy please.” He sighed deeply. This time he turned to her and took her hands in his

“I almost lost you...so many times...I did lose you,” He continues reluctantly, “i need to feel you all the time to remind myself that...that I didn’t lose everything.” When they make eye contact she swears she falls in love all over again. “ Percy must notice the look she has on her face because he gives her a sheepish grin

“...and yeah it helps me avoid sleep because of the nightmares.” He continues half heartedly. Their hands drop and Percy slightly panics at the gesture.

“Annabeth I know it sounds bad but I swear...I don’t love anyone the way I love you...and when we have sex it really is because I love you and there’s no one else I want…” The situation isn’t ideal but Annabeth can’t help but give him a small smile.

“Yeah it helps me get through other things but I promise you you’re not some kind of tool. I- I love you more than anything please…” Annabeth kisses him softly and this time she’s the one to lure him to bed.

“I know you love me Percy. I'm sorry I said that.” She fiddles with their fingers as they sit across each other.

“But if you’re gonna heal from this— if we’re gonna heal from this, I need you to tell me when you’re upset.”

Percy looks down this time.

“I want to know what your nightmares are about. I want to know when you start thinking about that place...I want you to let me in Percy.”

His voice cracks. “I-I don’t want to scare you again.”

“I’ll never walk away from you.” She lifts his chin to meet her gaze. “It’s you and me, always seaweed brain. You know that. ”

Percy smiles looking down at her, gripping her hand.

“Yeah I do.”

“I don’t want sex to be a distraction...I want you to really feel me,” she takes his hand and moves it up her thigh almost suggestively. “to really want me and my body.”  
Percy sighs and his hand slides farther up her leg.

“You know I always do Beth. I always want you...in every way.”

“Then show me.” This time Annabeth says completely sliding down the straps of her top.  
They have a long road to recovery, Annabeth knows everything won’t work out right away, but when she kisses Percy, she knows there’s no one else she wants by her side if it’s not him.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!! im a sucker for post tartarus changes so I loved writing this!  
> 


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